This invention relates to video systems, and more particularly, to interactive television program guide systems in which non-program listings are interspersed with television program listings.
Cable, satellite, and broadcast television systems provide viewers with a large number of television channels. Users have traditionally consulted printed television program schedules to determine the programs being broadcast at a particular time. More recently, interactive electronic television program guides have been developed that allow television program information to be displayed on a user""s television.
Interactive program guides allow the user to navigate through the television program listings using a remote control. In a typical program guide display, television listings are organized in a grid. Each row in the grid contains television program listings for a different channel. The columns in the grid correspond to a series of scheduled broadcast times. The user can scroll up or down to view program listings for different channels or may pan left or right to view information about programs being broadcast at different times.
The display grid in previously known interactive program guides has only been used to display program listings. If the user was interested in some other type of information, the user would have to exit the grid.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an interactive television program guide that displays selectable non-program options in the grid in addition to program listings.
This and other objects of the invention are accomplished in accordance with the principles of the present invention by providing an interactive program guide system in which television program listings and selectable non-program options are simultaneously displayed in a grid. This format allows users to readily obtain non-program information without exiting the grid. Information for the program listings and non-program options may be provided by a data source in a satellite uplink facility. The information is transmitted to a television distribution facility such as a cable system headend via satellite link. The television distribution facility distributes the information (and television programming signals) to user television equipment. One suitable distribution scheme involves transmitting television programming on cable or satellite television channels and distributing the information for the program listings and non-program options in the vertical blanking interval of one of the channels or on a sideband.
User equipment for receiving and processing the television program listings and non-program options information may include a set-top box. The set-top box is also able to receive the television programming distributed by the television distribution facility. The set-top box processes television program listings and non-program options information and generates an interactive television program guide grid on a display screen such as a standard television monitor. The user can interact with the television program guide by entering commands via a user input interface. An illustrative user input interface is an infrared remote control with cursor keys, a xe2x80x9cguidexe2x80x9d, button and an xe2x80x9centerxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cinfoxe2x80x9d button.
When the user presses xe2x80x9cguide,xe2x80x9d a program guide grid is displayed that contains television program listings in some rows and selectable non-program options in other rows. The user can position a highlight region on a desired entry using the cursor keys. Once the user has highlighted a desired non-program option, the user may depress the enter button. Selecting a non-program option in this way causes the set-top box to display additional information for the selected option. For example, if the selectable non-program option was xe2x80x9ctoday""s weather,xe2x80x9d making the selection would cause an information screen to appear containing additional information on today""s weather.
The permitted range of movement of the highlight region within the grid depends on whether the highlight region is on a program listing or a non-program option. When the highlight region is on a program listing, the program listings can be panned left or right by manipulation of the cursor keys. The non-program options typically do not move when the program listings are panned. When the highlight region is on a non-program option, panning the highlight typically does not pan either the non-program options or the program listings.
Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.